Residents can't be moved

-Couple content with house surrounded by parking lots.

-Couple content with house surrounded by parking lots.

February 05, 2008|PETER DAINING Grand Haven Tribune

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. -- Doug and Joyce Martyn remember when their block was full of trees, houses and families. Now, the home they've owned since 1977 is surrounded by Ottawa County fencing and parking lots. As the new courthouse goes up just to the north, the county's long-term plan incorporates the Martyns' property into more parking spots. "I guess they call it progress," Joyce said. "I still don't want to sell. It's a nice house in a good spot, and we're five minutes from everything." County Administrator Al Vanderberg said the county has enough parking, but is still interested in what will happen to the Martyns' plot. "That's the one piece on the block that the county doesn't own," he said. According to local historian Wallace Ewing, the section of Fourth Street between Clinton and Franklin avenues was closed in the mid-1980s to make way for the county parking lot. He said many of the neighbors sold their homes to the county in 1986. Some of the homes were transported to different locations and others were torn down. At one time, the entire block was residential except for a grocery store, Ewing said. The Martyns' last neighbor, Margaret Catron, died about a year ago. After her death, the county bought the house from a family trust and added the land to the parking lot, according to Vanderberg. Although Joyce, 77, and Doug, 82, miss having neighbors nearby, they find the changing landscape interesting. Doug, who has Parkinson's disease, keeps an eye on the progress of the new courthouse from the front porch; and Joyce said she doesn't mind the noise of the ongoing construction. "The house shakes when they're working out there, but it isn't terrible," she said. As long as they remain living in their home, the Martyns say they will be content. They have fond memories of a full house during Coast Guard Festival weekend, and always invite a big crowd over to see the annual parade. The Martyns have three children and five grandchildren. Their daughter, Judy Hanson, who works at the Michigan State University Extension office on the same block, said she would like to keep the house in the family. "I've had fond memories in that house," she said. "I hope one of the kids take it or my husband and I take it." But with family pictures blanketing the walls and heirlooms adorning the rooms, Joyce doesn't intend to pack up anytime soon. "I plan to be comfortable here for at least another 10 years," she said. "I plan to be at least 100, you know."